The Solstice just came and went, which means that summer is officially in full swing! It also means that many of you are feeling the effects of the uptick in seasonal hair removal. And while this may be The Summer of Armpit Hair, many of us haven’t quite jumped on that bandwagon. Which makes this a great time to talk about some tips for how to clean your at-home hair removal messes from every room in the house.
How to Clean a Beard Trimmer
A beard trimmer is a favorite tool of ladies who like to keep things neat and tidy downtown, without going through the pain (or expense!) of a bikini or Brazilian wax. To clean it, which you should do after every use, wipe the blade and guide combs, if using, with a small amount of rubbing alcohol applied to a cotton ball or soft cloth. As with all electronics, make sure the unit is both turned off and unplugged before cleaning.
MORE: 7 Essentials to Hack Your Summer Beach Bag
How to Disinfect a Pair of Tweezers
If you use tweezers to pluck out ingrown hairs from your bikini line, you should also clean them after each use in exactly the same way as you would a beard trimmer — using rubbing alcohol. This is also true if you use tweezers to remove a splinter — make sure to clean them afterwards. If you only use tweezers to pluck your eyebrows, cleaning after each use won’t be necessary, but it’s not a bad idea to give ’em a swipe with some rubbing alcohol from time to time to remove any buildup that can happen from frequent contact with your face.
How to Clean a Home Waxing Accident
This is more common than you’d think — I once had a reader email me after she’d accidentally knocked over a tub of hot wax onto her bedroom floor! The good news is that there’s a pretty simple way to get wax out of hard surfaces, that also works on upholstery and carpeting, too.
The trick is this: Put an iron on the lowest heat setting and grab some brown paper, like the kind that Trader Joe’s grocery bags are made of. Set the paper over the waxy spill, and place the iron on top. The heat from the iron will melt the wax, which will be absorbed by the brown paper. Repeat as necessary, swapping in clean paper as needed, until all the wax has been removed. If there’s lingering residue, a quick going over with a damp rag and a small amount of dish soap will remove it right quick.
MORE: Beauty Etiquette: Your Guide to a Successful Bikini Wax Appointment
How to Remove Depilatory Stains from Towels
Whether you choose drugstore brands like Nair or Veet, or that fancy Bliss ‘Fuzz’ Off Foam hair remover that our editor Jessica loves so much, regular users of depilatories for hair removal are probably familiar with the bleaching-effect those products can have on towels.
Unfortunately, short of re-dying, there’s no cure for towels or other fabrics that experience color loss. Fortunately, I have a few simple tips that can help you to avoid color loss in the towels you use to wipe away hair removing creams.
- Have a dedicated towel for depilatory time — maybe an old one, or one that you picked up on the cheap and have dedicated to this particular use
- Use white towels
- Rinse the towel out with cold water immediately after using to wipe away depilatory cream so that the products don’t have prolonged contact with the fibers
- Launder the towel as soon as possible after using in concert with a depilatory cream
MORE: 8 At-Home Hair Removers That Actually Work
How to Clean Reusable Razors
We talked about how (and why!) to clean reusable razors back when we discussed the care and keeping of your beautifying tools, so this will just be a quick refresher: Soak the cartridge-less razor in a solution of either one teaspoon bleach to four water or equal parts vinegar and water for 5 to 10 minutes. After allowing the razor to soak, give it a scrub, while still submerged, using a toothbrush to remove any buildup. Rinse in hot water and dry well with a towel.
